VisitBritain invites Australian travellers to Find Your GREAT Britain in 2018

VisitBritain has launched a new marketing campaign in Australia to boost tourism to Britain.

Running from 5 February until 31 March in Australia, the ‘I Travel For…’ campaign uses short films and storytelling to shine the spotlight on unexpected experiences and less-explored destinations in Britain, alongside its globally renowned and iconic landmarks and attractions. The short films and images align the passions that motivate Australians to travel with experiences they can only have in Britain, inspiring them to ‘Find Your Great Britain’ and book a trip right now.

The ‘I Travel For…’ marketing campaign was officially launched at a VisitBritain reception on Wednesday 21 February attended by more than 100 representatives from the travel industry across Australia as well as media from the travel and lifestyle sectors. In honour of 250 years of the circus, an anniversary being celebrated across Britain in 2018, the event was held at Archie Brothers Electric Circus in Sydney’s Alexandria, a surprising venue that combines arcade games with dodgem cars, a bowling alley, thrilling VR experiences and a bar.

VisitBritain Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said:

“Tourism is one of the UK’s most valuable export industries, and is a fiercely competitive global industry. We are seizing the opportunity in 2018 to showcase that Britain is bursting with fun activities, adventure and wonderfully unexpected experiences to come and discover all year round.”

“Australia is an extremely important market for VisitBritain; a billion-pound market and our fourth most valuable. We want to build on the growth we have seen in visits from Australia so far in 2017 and invite more Aussies to Find Your Great Britain this year.

“From Britain’s exciting and contemporary culture and living history to the vibrancy of its cool cities, from thrill-seeking adventures in stunning countryside to its local food and drink experiences, I Travel For… wants to inspire visitors from Australia to book a trip right now.”

The campaign has been developed based on VisitBritain’s global research into people’s motivations, passions and inspiration for travel including adventure, fun, discovery, food and drink and the unexpected.

VisitBritain is working with commercial partners in Australia, including Flight Centre and Etihad, to amplify its global marketing reach and convert the aspiration to visit into bookings. Its partnerships with airlines and travel brands showcase how accessible Britain is for Australians via the five key gateways.

The latest official statistics show that there has been strong growth in visits from Australia to the UK. There were 876,000 visits from Australia to the UK from January to September 2017, up 11% compared to the same period the previous year. Visitors from Australia spent £956 million in the UK during this period, up 12% compared to the same period in 2016.

‘I Travel For…’ is part of the UK Government’s global GREAT Britain campaign, which showcases the very best of what Britain has to offer as a place to visit, study, invest and do business.

Reasons to travel to Britain in 2018:

Bristol in England is opening a new museum, Being Brunel, in early 2018 and London’s V&A Museum is opening an outpost in Dundee in the second half of the year.

It will be a big year for culture in Liverpool as it celebrates its 10th anniversary of being named European Capital of Culture. The city welcomes the Terracotta Warriors to the World Museum from February to October 2018.

NewcastleGateshead in England will host The Great Exhibition of the North, celebrating the cities’ culture, art and design from June to September.

Scotland heralds 2018 as the Year of Young People, with events including the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo and Speyside Whisky Festival.

Wales celebrates the Year of the Sea celebrating its epic coastline, fringed with rugged cliffs, wide sandy bays, and the adventures to match through themed events and celebrations. Its annual literary and arts festival, The Laugharne Weekend, is in April, followed by the Festival of Voice in Cardiff in June. The Big Cheese Festival takes place in Caerphilly in June, with a Seafood Festival in Cardigan Bay in July.

The last season of Game of Thrones will be filmed in Northern Ireland, on locations including Giant’s Causeway (The Iron Island) and the Dark Hedges (The King’s Road), along with the original filming locations of Winterfell.

In 2016:

There were 982,000 visits from Australia to Britain with a total spend of £1.06 billion, placing Australia as fourth most valuable for inbound spend and 10th biggest source market for inbound visits to the UK.

The average Australian visitor spent £1,079, 80% more than the average visitor to the UK in 2016.

Australians stay for longer than average. They stayed for 13 nights in 2016, almost 80% more than the average visitor who stayed for 7 nights.

Australian visitors have a high propensity to travel across Britain. In 2016 61% visits from Australia included a visit to London, 52% in the English regions, 13% in Scotland, 7% in Wales – compared to 51%, 42%, 7% and 3% respectively for the average visitor to the UK.

Source: International Passenger Survey, Office of National Statistics UK